1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally involves the field of technology pertaining to a device for skimming debris from the surface of the water in a swimming pool; especially an above ground, backyard swimming pool, employing the use of a pump and filter for circulating and cleaning the water.
In general, the device comprises a net made of a suitable mesh material which is disposed, at one end, around a pole which is detachably mounted to the side of a pool and which extends inwardly toward the center of the pool when it is mounted on the pool wall. The net extends downwardly from the pole and into the water. The lower end of the net, distant from the pole, has a rod attached to it for weighing the net downward below the water surface. The lower end of the net is then folded upward some distance below the water surface and the two edges of the net are then sealed together by any suitable means thereby forming a pocket in the net for catching the debris as it impacts on the net. The water in the pool is circulated by means of a standard pump and filter system.
The net can be easily cleaned by removing it from the pool and hosing it down or in any other manner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A search of the prior art has uncovered the Heinlien U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,327; Burkhart U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,001; Newcombe-Bond U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,622; LaChance U.S. Pat. No. 3,625,364; and Canadian Patent 590,252.
There is a substantial structural difference between the screening 24 in the LaChance patent and the net with a pocket disclosed in the instant invention.
The Heinlein U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,327 teaches a skimmer bar, projecting generally obliquely toward the direction from which normal circulation of water in the pool takes place, defining with the adjacent pool side a pocket for receiving and directing debris. Thus, the debris is not caught in a net.
In the Newcombe-Bond U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,622, a mesh bag is slipped over floats to hang behind them and to catch and retain floating debris which enters the float. This is substantially different from the net with a pocket of the instant invention.
The Burkhart U S. Pat. No. 4,557,001, depends upon movement of the ends of a skirt member relative to each other to form a loop which traps the debris. The skirt, now in the form of a loop, is then removed from the water.
Canadian Patent 590,252 has a water filtering means in the form of a bag secured around a casing wherein a turbine driven propeller is provided to circulate the water which discharges into the bag.